Growing up, I used to be a professional Rice Crispy Treat baker. I’d dump butter in a pot, add a bag of marshmallows, rice crisp, and vanilla.
Spread into a pan.
Stuff in face.
Totally gourmet.
Sticky, sweet, crunchy…and easy enough for a child to make. I still remember sticking the gooey cereal covered spoon straight into my mouth to ‘taste test’, leaving marshmallow whiskers all over my cheeks. I made them so many times, I memorized the complex and highly detailed gourmet recipe off the side of the cereal box. Like I said, total pro.
Each December, I showcased my skills by making Christmas-themed Rice Crispy Treats, complete with red and green rice crispies and a dusting of red and green sprinkles on top. They were the hit of every class party, the talk of the town, and they matched my Christmas sweater and scrunchie so well.
These Almond Butter Rice Crisp Treats are an equally gourmet version (read: no bake) of my loved childhood treats. However, unlike the original, this recipe is made without marshmallows, but I promise you won’t miss them!
To make these treats, I used my No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Crispies recipe for inspiration- one of the most popular recipes on the blog.
I put on my apron, rolled up my sleeves, and got to work. After 15 exhausting minutes, I had treats whipped up for a special someone.
Almond Butter Rice Crisp Treats
Yield
12 squares
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
15 minutes
Total time
These rice crisp treats are absolutely divine! I love to use my Maple-Cinnamon Superseed Almond Butter in these for a great flavour, but store-bought natural almond butter will also work in a pinch.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) brown rice syrup*
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) Maple-Cinnamon Superseed Almond Butter**
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) non-dairy butter (such as Earth Balance)
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups (115 g) gluten-free rice crisp cereal
For the chocolate topping:
- 1/3 cup (65 g) non-dairy chocolate chips
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) coconut oil
- Unsweetened shredded coconut, for garnish (optional)
Directions
- Prepare an 8 inch by 8 inch square pan, by lining it with 2 pieces of parchment paper, one going each way.
- In a large pot over low-medium heat, add the brown rice syrup, almond butter, butter, maple syrup, and salt. Stir well until super smooth and heated through. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
- Stir in the rice crisp cereal until thoroughly combined.
- Scoop into pan and spread out evenly. Press down with lightly wet fingers or roll flat with pastry roller. Place in freezer to set for 5 minutes while you make the chocolate topping.
- In a small pot or double boiler, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil over low heat. Once 2/3 of the chips are melted, remove from heat and stir until smooth.
- Remove the pan from freezer and drizzle or spread with melted chocolate mixture. Sprinkle with coconut and place in the freezer until firm, about 10 minutes.
- Slice into squares. Bars will hold their shape quite well at room temperature, but you can store in the fridge to ensure the chocolate stays solid. Leftovers can be wrapped and stored in the fridge for 5 to 7 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Tip:
- * Brown rice syrup is used in this recipe because it is a great binder. I don't recommend using another liquid sweetener.
- ** Feel free to swap the almond butter for store-bought natural peanut butter or almond butter, if desired.
- Make it soy-free: Use soy-free vegan chocolate chips, such as Enjoy Life brand. Also use soy-free vegan butter, such as Earth Balance soy-free buttery spread.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Oh man did this recipe bring back the memories!
You can either drizzle on the chocolate as shown below, or spread it out evenly covering the entire surface, depending on how much chocolate you want. I used 1/4 cup chocolate chips and it was the perfect amount to drizzle. Use 1/2 cup chips if you want to cover the entire surface.
I had to use so much restraint not to eat all of them! Eric also raved about them and was quite jealous when he found out that they weren’t for him. :)
Did you do any baking or cooking as a child? What was your favourite thing to make?
Recipe News:
I’m setting up a new recipe organizational system powered by Recipage! I think you’re going to love it as much as I already do. I‘m excited to have a better system for quickly locating, searching, emailing, sharing, and printing recipes all in one spot. You can check out the new page here to see the 40 recipes I’ve entered so far. I still have about 6 gazillion recipes to enter, so bear with me as I try to enter all of them in. ;) I should be finished by 2015. Maybe sooner if I figure out how to copy and paste.
[joking, joking!]
Rice Krispy treats were definitely a childhood favorite (still love ’em today!). Love this healthified, grown up version. Looks delicious!
I loved making Rice Crispy Treats when I was little too. And brownies because I loved to lick the batter bowl clean. :)
Can’t wait to try your recipe. I think I need to make these asap!
I can’t believe these don’t have any marshmallow creme in them – they look just like what my mom used to make! My BFF is 8 months pregnant right now and craves rice cripsy treats – I’m going to make up a batch of these for her this weekend. :)
My favorite thing to make as a child was PB cookies. I loved using the fork to make the cris-crosses on the tops.
P.S. I just checked out the recipe page – it is looking awesome! It’s going to be worth the hard work in 2015. :)
haha I look forward to that date.
These are just what I’ve been looking for! I have a cousin’s baby shower to attend soon, and I was looking for a treat that could satisfy a crowd! I think these will be perfect, but decorated with pale pink icing :)
Oh, and I used to make peppermint rice crispy treat during my Christmas parties! I was the hit of the 4th grade!
mmm I did too!
YUM! I’ve made these before using honey instead of brown rice syrup and peanut butter instead of almond. Not vegan, but totally delicious!
These look awesome! I used to LOVE Rice Krispy Treats as a kid, they have that amazing flavor that nothing else has. My favorite thing to bake as a kid was spritz shortbread cookies in all different colors at Christmas!
Hooray for Recipage (and krispie treats!)!!!
It’s a lot of work, but worth it! I love your recipes and will now be able to search them more easily! =)
My husband loves old school rice crispy treats so these would be a hit in my house (and a slightly healthier version ;)) must try them!
I’m psyched you’re putting recipage up. You have so many good recipes and I’ve loved the blogs that have implemented that so far. Makes it sooo much easier :)
are they still chewy without the marshmallows or are they crunchier?
super chewy! Similar texture I would say :)
I used to make this one thing called sweet marie bars ALL the time when I was little. Then I realized that a cup of corn syrup in one recipe wasnt a good idea. They were very similar to your peanut butter chocolate crunchies. ( Your recipe is much better for you!) But I thought I was pro making them. :)
These treats look AMAZING!
Generally, my favorite way to cook as a child: anything involving mixing+baking. Biscotti is SO fun!
I have made rice crisp treats very similar to this and they are DELICIOUS. I love your added touch with the chocolate drizzle- they look so pretty. I thought they tasted similar to rice crispy treats with an extra flavor perk from the nut butter! Even better in my book.
I used to be an expert rice krispie maker too! It does require a lot of tricks and skills after all ;-)
I am quite in love with this recipe, it will be perfect to bring to the BBQ I am going to on Sunday!
I make this exact same recipe at least once a week, only I make it on a bowl and eat it straight out of said bowl. I just mix 1 cup gf rice crisps, handful of chocolate chips, 1 tbsp almond butter, handful chopped almonds and throw it in the microwave for 30 sec. stir, then 30 sec more. Ah-mazing. I should probably try to put the effort in to actually making squares out of them, I’m just far too antsy when I have a chocolate craving to wait that long!
I love this idea! Not 100% in love with almond butter (except on carrots!!!) but I would totally annihilate these!
Those are beautiful!
I actually was the “weird kid” who didn’t love traditional Rice Krispy treats– because I hated marshmallows! My mom made a special version for me instead, using peanut butter and butterscotch chips, and they were my absolute favorite treat. Since peanut butter isn’t a staple in my diet anymore, I bet I would love this almond butter version!!
And let’s be honest, I’d eat anything drizzled in chocolate. ;)
I loved Rice Krispy Squares as a kid! When we moved to Bahrain, my sister’s friends hadn’t really tried them before, so for National Day at our school (as in, where everyone comes in wearing their national dress), she brought in a massive tray of Rice Krispy squares, in the shape of a Canadian flag. She used ones that she’d dyed red for the maple leaf and the left and right sides, then the regular ones for the white part. They thought it was amazing! And to think those children had been deprived of such a delicious treat for so long!!! :)
And PS. I’m so ridiculously excited for these.. you have NO idea! :)
that’s such a cool idea!
Love your new recipe page!! Awesome work. I’m thrilled that I now have a recipe to make crispy treats for my kids that I can eat, too. After starting a Vegan diet I did not know if I would be able to have crispy treats again. I’m so excited to try this! Have a great weekend.
This is so gross but my “specialty” when I was a kid was decorated cakes. Bake up a box cake mix, whip up a batch of “Jenna’s frosting” as the recipe card in my mom’s binder says, turn it about 10 different colors, stuff it into pastry bags and go to TOWN on that thing! Hearts, stars, unicorns, swags on the edges, fluted piping, and don’t forget to write your name and a few other sweet words on top! WAY too much frosting, oh and that special recipe? Powdered sugar, shortening, almond flavoring and milk. Ew!!! But so tasty!
I made rice krispy treats for the first time a couple weeks ago & added crushed up oreos. Boy, did I feel fancy! I can’t wait to try these ones out!
haha now that’s gourmet!
Aww yay, Emily and Casey’s Recipage is an awesome addition to the site. So user friendly :D
These treats are so genius! I love almond butter and I love rice krispies but avoid them because of all of the HFCS in them. Thanks Angela!
I was just browsing your recipes this morning and the new Recipage layout makes things so much easier to find! What a great idea!!
i loved rice krispie squares growing up!
the recipe page looks great.. nice and organized
Hey Anglea I can’t wait for recipage!!! I love it. So easy to did stuff! Awesome idea! Have a great weekend!
I’m loving the Recipage so far :) And those rice crisps look delicious!
I was definitely a chocolate chip cookie baker as a kid. And not surprisingly, I haven’t really changed much since then! ;)
These bars look so amazing – you really cannot go wrong with nut butter + chocolate!
This recipe is brilliant. I LOATHE working with marshmallows. The sticky, gooeyness is so frustrating for impatient little me!
and the clean up was much much easier without them!
I think those are the prettiest rice krispie treats I’ve ever seen :)
These look delicious!! I used to love making rice krispie treats when I was younger too! But I think my all time favorite thing to make was chocolate chip cookies with my mom. We made them ALL the time and it’s become somewhat second nature for me now to whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Not vegan though! I’m hoping your lovely blog will help me learn how to whip up some amazing vegan cookies!
I believe you have just ended my eternal search for dairy free, gelatin free rice krispie treats. Brilliance!
Hello from Guelph!
Crunchy almond butter is my FAVOURITE. These look awesome.
I’ll be trying these out tonight!
yay guelph…love it there!
Oh heavens, where’s my drool cloth? Yum much! I’m not vegan, or vegetarian. I’m a flexitarian. I only eat meat when I feel like it… Which is pretty rare! Anyway, whenever I try to convince others of the health benefits of eating less meat, they go off on the importance of protein. I know there are excellent plant sources of protein, and that we need much less protein than we’ve been led to believe. I don’t get hung up on the specifics; I just listen to my body and adjust accordingly. But, I thought you might know how much we actually do need. And then maybe people will stop giving me a hard time and start listening ;) If you do know and happen to have the time, or feel so inclined, could you please shoot me a brief email letting me know? Thank you kindly. And thanks so much for sharing your wonderfully balanced recipes! *B
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is 0.8 – 1 gram per kilogram (kg) of body weight. In comparison, endurance athletes require about 1.2 to 1.4 g/kg. (1 pound = 2.2 kilograms)
ps. I really like the shot with the mixing bowl and spoon in the background!
Thanks!!
These sound awesome! I need to give them a try soon :)
Yummm – I made almost the exact recipe recently and their featured on the Earth Balance website. Your photos are top notch, as always. & I love that green plate.
I think Recipage is awesome; though, I had no idea you had to enter all your recipes individually. Oh, my! Wish I could help ya out :)
I love rice krispie squares :)
& the new recipe page looks great.
Those rice krispies look so good & the recipe only has 8 ingredients! That’s my kind of recipe :-)
The new recipage is so easy! It’s a much better way to format your recipes. I really appreciate you updating it so now I can more easily throw myself into “make every single delicious recipe that Angela’s ever made” frenzy. :-)
I bet these rice krispies would be really good with some vegan marshmellows –> need. to. buy. some. STAT.
I love trying out your recipes and I’m so excited it will be even easier with the new page. I’m sure it takes a lot of time, so thank you!
Oh my gosh! I used to love Rice Krispy Treats so much! Heck, I still do!
Thanks for the natural, vegan alternative, Angela! :-D
Hands down, my favourite thing to bake as a child was chocolate chip cookies.
Scrunchies! BWAHAHA. Oh man, those were the days.
Anyways, :), I did a lot of baking when I was a kid with my grandmothers and my step-mother. I also had an easy bake oven, which I loved! Probably my favorite thing to make was banana bread because it always came out so perfect. And of course Christmas cookies during the holiday season were always fun!
I baked a lot throughout elementary/jr. high/high school (oatmeal raisin cookies were my Dad’s fav so they were featured quite frequently). The best part was my mom would always voluntarily clean-up the mess :) I miss those days! I still have my first cookbook: Debbie Learns to Cook. French toast was the first thing I ever made. Thanks for another great recipe!
I LOVE rice krispy treats! I cannot wait to make these!!
Ooooh yum! I miss rice crispy treats so much!
Definitely chocolate chip cookies, with cupcakes coming in as a very close second! Can’t wait to try this new spin on an old favourite Angela!
I loveeee how sticky and gooey rice crispy treats are. Do you remember rice crispy treat cereal?! clumps of delicious marshmellowy goodness drenched in milk, yes please! And good news for any gluten free people, rice crispy cereal is now certified gluten free! I was psyched.
Those look so yummy. I really need to not look at food blogs before meals. Sheesh!
I love organization. It makes me happy.
Me too…once it is done! heh
Angela these look so mouthwatering! I love how easy and simple they are! I think I am going to bring these for a potluck next week. I don’t think I have had a rice crispie treat since high school. Can’t wait to get uncooking!
I bought a jar of brown rice syrup quite a while ago, but I’m never sure when to sub it in for other sweeteners. I can’t wait to try it out in this recipe! These definitely bring back wonderful childhood memories. I don’t think you’re ever too old for rice crisp treats :-)
Rice Krispie treats and cupcakes made from crappy box mixes totally remind me of my childhood! And snowcones and pickles, after little league games. :)